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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Omer Jean Gagnon

In memory of:

Lieutenant Omer Jean Gagnon

December 17, 1942

Military Service


Age:

23

Force:

Navy

Unit:

Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve

Division:

H.M.S. Fire Drake

Additional Information


Son of Pierre Arthur and Ernestine Gagnon, of Outremont, Province of Quebec.

Commemorated on Page 75 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada

Grave Reference:

Panel 8.

Location:

The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives. This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs. The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:

1914-1939
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.

On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Press Clipping– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Memorial– Halifax Memorial, Point Pleasant Park, Halifax NS
  • Memorial– Halifax Memorial, Point Pleasant Park, Halifax NS
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Plaque– Ex-cadets are named on the Memorial Arch at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario and in memorial stained glass windows to fallen comrades.

2631 Lt Omer Jean Gagnon (RMC 1936) was the son of Pierre Arthur and Ernestine Gagnon, of Outremont, Quebec.  He served with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Division aboard H.M.S. Fire Drake. He died on December 17, 1942. His name is listed on the Halifax Memorial.
  • Memorial– Ex-cadets are named on the Memorial Arch at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario and in memorial stained glass windows to fallen comrades.

2631 Lt Omer Jean Gagnon (RMC 1936) was the son of Pierre Arthur and Ernestine Gagnon, of Outremont, Quebec.  He served with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Division aboard H.M.S. Fire Drake. He died on December 17, 1942. His name is listed on the Halifax Memorial.
  • Stained Glass Window– Ex-cadets are named on the Memorial Arch at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario and in memorial stained glass windows to fallen comrades.

2631 Lt Omer Jean Gagnon (RMC 1936) was the son of Pierre Arthur and Ernestine Gagnon, of Outremont, Quebec.  He served with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Division aboard H.M.S. Fire Drake. He died on December 17, 1942. His name is listed on the Halifax Memorial.
  • Cross of Sacrifice– 2631 Lt Omer Jean Gagnon (RMC 1936) was the son of Pierre Arthur and Ernestine Gagnon, of Outremont, Quebec.  He served with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Division aboard H.M.S. Fire Drake. He died on December 17, 1942. His name is listed on the Halifax Memorial.
  • H.M.S. Fire Drake– 2631 Lt Omer Jean Gagnon (RMC 1936) was the son of Pierre Arthur and Ernestine Gagnon, of Outremont, Quebec.  He served with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Division aboard H.M.S. Fire Drake. On 17 Dec, 1942, HMS Firedrake was hit by one of two torpedoes from U-211 while escorting the convoy ON-153 in the North Atlantic. Cdr E.H. Tilden, DSC, RN, five officers and 163 ratings were lost. Gagnon's name is listed on the Halifax Memorial.
  • Memorial– Memorial stair, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario
  • Memorial– Memorial arch, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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